Amber Bracken
Amber Bracken is a double World Press winner—in 2017 and in 2022, when she won photo of the year. Other recognitions include the Canadian Association of Journalists’ Charles Bury Award for contributions to coverage of Indigenous stories, the ICP Infinity Award for career recognition, and the Pen Canada Ken Filkow Prize for advancing freedom of expression.
Amber Bracken is a Canadian photojournalist whose work is rooted in respect, empathy, and long-term engagement. Dedicated to documentary practice, she uses photography to honour resilience, confront injustice, and amplify voices that are too often marginalised. Her imagery bridges the space between advocacy and art, striking a balance between visual beauty and truth-telling. Bracken’s commitment to patient, relationship-driven storytelling has established her as an influential figure in contemporary photography, where her values of justice, dignity, and humanity guide every frame.
Bracken is a two-time World Press Photo winner, earning recognition in 2017 and in 2022 when she received the prestigious Photo of the Year award. Her photographs often illuminate the struggles and triumphs of Indigenous communities across North America, documenting not only moments of crisis but also stories of survival, strength, and cultural continuity. Her work has been featured in leading international publications and consistently challenges viewers to reconsider their perspectives on colonial history, systemic inequality, and the environment.
Her dedication to covering underrepresented narratives has been recognised with numerous awards. Among these is the Canadian Association of Journalists’ Charles Bury Award for her contributions to coverage of Indigenous stories. She has also been honoured with the ICP Infinity Award, recognising her career-long impact, and the Pen Canada Ken Filkow Prize, awarded for advancing freedom of expression. These accolades highlight her dual role as both a documentarian and an advocate, whose photographs resonate with urgency and compassion.
Bracken’s approach to photography is profoundly personal and guided by a belief in the power of storytelling to inspire change. Rather than focusing solely on headline-driven events, she invests time in building relationships and trust, often returning to communities repeatedly to capture evolving narratives. This commitment has yielded work that transcends the surface of photojournalism, offering nuanced insights into lived experiences and histories of resilience.
Her award-winning image from 2021, depicting children’s clothing draped over crosses at a former residential school in Canada, stands as a stark and moving testament to the generational trauma of colonialism. Beyond this single image, her body of work consistently foregrounds voices that are too often silenced. By challenging mainstream narratives and demanding accountability, she has elevated Indigenous perspectives within the global conversation on human rights and reconciliation.
Today, Bracken continues to work on projects that intersect land, identity, and justice, blending documentary rigour with visual sensitivity. Her practice exemplifies the potential of photography as both a journalistic and artistic medium, committed to bearing witness and preserving memory.